Donny's Loan Army March Into Battle: Westbrooke and Flint Ready for Play-Off Glory
While Doncaster Rovers fans twiddle their thumbs, two of their loanees are living it up in National League play-off fever - with Scunthorpe hosting Southend and Buxton also in elimination action.
Nothing quite says 'development pathway' like watching your players potentially achieve promotion while you're sat at home contemplating another season in League Two. Such is the delicious irony facing Doncaster Rovers supporters this Tuesday, as two of their loan army find themselves in the thick of National League play-off drama.
Zain Westbrooke will be pulling on the Scunthorpe shirt when the Iron welcome Southend United to Glanford Park for what promises to be a proper old-fashioned knockout affair. The midfielder has found himself at the heart of Scunthorpe's fifth-place finish - not bad for a side that knows a thing or two about the unglamorous grind of non-league football.
Facing them across the Glanford Park turf will be Southend United, who scraped into sixth spot and will arrive with nothing to lose and everything to gain. It's the sort of fixture that separates the wheat from the chaff, where reputations count for precisely nothing and whoever wants it most usually gets it.
Meanwhile, Will Flint is also preparing for his own slice of play-off pandemonium with Buxton. While the specific details of their clash remain shrouded in the mysterious ways of lower-league scheduling, the defender will be hoping his loan spell culminates in something more meaningful than just 'valuable experience' - that most hollow of football phrases.
For Westbrooke in particular, Tuesday represents the chance to cap off what appears to have been a successful temporary stint away from the Keepmoat Stadium. Scunthorpe's fifth-place finish suggests they've been doing something right, and having a Doncaster loanee in their engine room can hardly have hurt their cause.
The beauty of play-offs, of course, is that form guides and league positions get tossed out of the window faster than you can say 'lottery'. Southend might have finished a place behind Scunthorpe, but they'll fancy their chances of turning up and spoiling the home party.
While Doncaster Rovers plan their summer holidays and contemplate another campaign in the fourth tier, at least they can console themselves with the knowledge that their development strategy is working - just not necessarily for them. Come Tuesday evening, they might well have two players celebrating promotion to a higher level than the one they'll be playing at next season.
Football, as they say, is a funny old game. Sometimes it's funnier for some than others.